Bittersweet
by Xekstrin
Summary: Sheena decides one day that Raine is going to bake cookies, and Sheena will teach her how. They get a little sidetracked, though, and kisses are sweeter than cookies, after all...
1. Chapter 1

It was hot in the kitchen. Shimmering waves rose and floated off of the oven, aided by the already scorching mid afternoon sun. Outside, it was lethargic with not even the sounds of children playing, reveling in their summer vacation. Everyone was in their house, or at the lake, desperately seeking relief. A few even ventured outside the town limits to go to the sea shore. Sweat collected on the side of Sheena's forehead, eventually growing heavy enough to slither down her cheek like some cold snake her body had produced, trying to fend off the heat of the summer day. Stepping back, something snagged at her foot. Tripping over the kitchen rug, her eyes shot open and she stumbled with a small cry, almost toppling over and bringing Raine down with her. In retrospect, that was actually a good idea, but the thought of cracking her skull against the tiles was enough of a deterrent that she caught herself and Raine before they fell, hauling her upright easily with her ninja strength.

They looked at each other before laughing. "Are you all right?" Raine asked, reaching up to tuck Sheena's ebony hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, just tripped." She pulled Raine's hands down to her hips, silencing further conversation with a kiss.

Salt reached her questing tongue, though it wasn't the sweat from her own body that she tasted.

_Ding._

Sheena almost missed the sound of the oven timer, which was understandable since she was currently otherwise occupied. Taking a few more wobbly steps back, she had to let go of Raine's orange coat to feel behind herself so that she didn't run into anything again. They were in Genis and Raine's newly rebuilt house in Iselia. Sheena thought it was a cozy place, though since she hadn't seen the original she really couldn't appreciate the change. The two women had the house to themselves today, since Sheena had decided today would be the day Raine Sage finally cooked something edible. Statements like these were a sure-fire way to get Genis out of their way for the next twelve hours, since he knew if he stayed he'd be singled out as the taste tester.

And no one, half-elfin or not, could survive the rejects of Raine's cooking attempts.

He had fled to the ocean with Lloyd, Colette, and a few other classmates, intent on staying there until it grew too dark to see the path back. He might even have to stay over at Dirk's house with Lloyd tonight, a blessing if there ever was one. Of course she loved Genis, he was a great kid, but it had been a while since she'd been able to be alone with Raine.

But since they didn't get days like this- alone- often, somehow their cooking sessions wound up a little shorter than Sheena had planned them. First they were talking about the weather to pass the time as they waited for the cookies to bake, and the next thing you know... sheesh. Now as she was being pressed against the counter with Raine's mouth on hers, feeling those soft breasts waiting for her under that baggy orange coat, she remembered why these cooking sessions ended up short.

"Sheena..." Raine sighed against her neck, turning her face sideways to nip at Sheena's jawline. "I think I heard the oven go off."

Sheena uttered something unintelligible, managing to open her glazed eyes and blink back to reality.

Raine cleared her throat, pulling back. "The oven. Didn't it...?"

_Ding._

They heard it again, unmistakable. Sheena grit her teeth, frustrated at the interruption. Forcing herself to get over it, she smiled winningly and pried herself free from Raine's grasping hands, straightening her ruffled clothing and wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Well," she said, snatching up a nearby oven mitt. "Time for tasting!"

"Well, it _would_ have been," Raine muttered, also upset but too level-headed for anyone to visibly notice it... except someone who knew her. Crossing her arms and leaning against the counter, Raine sighed at the waste of time. She didn't bother re-arranging the mess Sheena had made of her clothes, which made her all the more attractive to the ninja who couldn't wait to start back where she had left off.

Sheena pulled a sarcastic sneer at Raine's comment, though silently she agreed. Pulling the cookies out of the oven and lying them down onto another tray to cool, she talked to Raine. "OK, so, you used Genis's recipe, right?"

"Right." Raine walked over, drawn to the cookies in spite of herself. She was honestly curious to see how they had turned out.

"And you didn't make any of your... modifications?"

Raine huffed. "I didn't stray from the recipe, though I still think it would have been worthwhile to see how they reacted when mixed with-"

"Raine, honey..." Sheena shook her head, pressing a finger against Raine's lips. "Let's concentrate on making them taste good. Once you have that down, then you can start fooling around and diverge from the recipe. But you know..." She pulled a cookie from the tray, holding it up as if it were a diamond ready to be examined for its value. It was perfectly circular, crumbly golden brown with soft brown chocolate chips. "It looks great! And all you had to do was not put some totally random ingredient in it..."

She looked over her shoulder at her lover, face smug. "Told ya so."

"Save it for when you actually taste it," Raine said in response. "Then we'll see if you were right or not."

Sheena lounged about, feigning boredom while putting the cookie away to inspect her nails. "Oh, now you're interested in the outcome, because the stakes are different. Now it's not-" she clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes and looking up innocently at the ceiling in what she fondly imagined was an impersonation of Raine. "Oh dearie me! Can I cook without mixing poisons with potions? Am I going to make cookies or flying saucers?" Firmly planting her hands on her hips, she fixed Raine with a cool gaze. "Now its, 'Am I right or is Sheena right?'"

"Sheena, if you don't want to try them just say so. Quit stalling."

Sheena grimaced. "Was I that obvious?"

Raine only sighed, snatching up the cookie she had discarded and venturing a nibble. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she swallowed and turned to Sheena, a rare, genuine smile lighting up her face. "It tastes good!" she said, taking a larger bite.

"Told ya so!"

Now it was Raine's turn to sneer... right after taking another bite of her cookie. "There is something a little off about them," she admitted, "Though I can't put my finger on it. Still, they're palatable."

"I'll be the judge of that," Sheena said, reaching for another cookie.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Raine slapped her hand away lightly, grabbing the ninja's wrists with both hands while grinning around the remainder of the cookie clenched between her teeth. She pinned Sheena against the counter again. Though she could have easily broken free the ninja had to remind herself that this was just playful teasing, the way lovers were supposed to do. In the months after they had first gotten together, Sheena realized she was woefully inept at this sort of thing. But Raine more than made up for it, and this soft naivety was one of the things Raine seemed to like about her. Sheena cocked one eyebrow up, wondering what game the Professor was up to now.

Raine leaned forward, kissing Sheena and pressing the last of the cookie in with her tongue, languorously letting it slide along the inner lining of Sheena's mouth to taste her, the soft scent of Sheena mixing with the buttery, sweet taste of cookies and chocolate. Again her tongue flickered out, running along Sheena's lips to catch the last few crumbs. She moved her hands, releasing Sheena's wrists to let their fingers intertwine.

"Well?" Raine said, pausing to catch her breath as she grinned against Sheena's lips.

Sheena took a moment to snap out of it again. "Well what?" she asked, letting her fingertips dance across Raine's orange overcoat, suddenly ready for the cooking lesson to be over.

"The cookie, Sheena." Raine smiled, exasperated. "That thing I just shoved down your throat?"

"Yeah, well, you try concentrating on some cookie when Raine Sage's tongue is in your mouth."

"I'd be worried if my tongue wasn't in my mouth."

"Maybe you should try again," Sheena suggested. "Maybe I'll taste it better the second time around."

Snorting in amusement, Raine reached around Sheena and grabbed a cookie. "Here," she said, feeding it to her in a relatively more normal way. Sheena rolled her eyes and obeyed, letting her eyelids drop and tilting her head back. She reached up for it, fitting her mouth around the entire cookie, downing it in three quick gulps and nipping at Raine's fingers once she was done. Raine found her throat oddly constricted, but managed to compose herself at the end. "N-.. n- now, oh Countess of Culinary, can you give me the final verdict?"

"Gimme a sec," Sheena said, her voice muffled by cookie as she chewed, her expression thoughtful. Raine impatiently waited, holding onto Sheena's shoulder with one hand while stroking her cheek with the other. Grinning ruefully, Sheena placed her hand over Raine's. "I think you added a bit too much salt," she said. "But they're good. No, really!" she added at the dubious expression on her lover's face. Hugging her around the waist and pulling her close, she kissed Raine. "I'm not saying that to humor you. If I thought they tasted like hell, you would have known it."

"I don't know...You probably don't like them at all and you're just being nice," Raine said slowly, drawing out the extra affection Sheena was heaping on her. "Sometimes I think you're too sweet for your own good."

Sheena yanked Raine closer, mock-growling at her. "Oh, you don't like sweet? I guess that explains those cookies, then. They suit _your _personality nicely, by the way."

"I thought they were salty. You should have told me they were bitter, too."

Sheena tapped her nose knowingly. "And that's your mistake, right there," she said, her voice growing softer as she trailed her hands up Raine's body, cupping her face and bringing it close to her own. "You're assuming I don't like bitter."

"So are we talking about the cookies now, or me?"

"What do you think?"

Raine grinned. "I think you have chocolate all over your mouth. Mm..." she bit Sheena's lip. "And it's sweet, like you."

Though she probably should have been used to statements like this already, Sheena always blushed when Raine spoke like that about her. She kissed Raine instead of continuing the banter, a closed-mouth peck that was admittedly more sweet than sexy. Then, seeing she had spread the chocolate onto Raine's mouth, she giggled and cleaned it off with a nearby kitchen towel before dropping it and kissing her again, more forceful this time. First she twined her arms up into Raine's hair, running her fingers through it, silver and messy and beautiful, then reached under Raine's shirt with one hand to feel her taut, smooth belly, moving up to trace the swell of her breasts. She instinctively sucked in a sharp breath as Raine ventured lower than her belly, the half elf's hot breath speaking into her ear to send happy shivers down her spine.

"How long do you think we have?" she asked, toying with Sheena's large pink bow.

"Well, Genis shouldn't be back for a good five hours..." Sheena answered. "He might even be gone all night."

"Ooh, how ambitious of you."

"Hey! I'm only saying how much time we have. What we do with it is up to us." With that, she dragged Raine back into their kiss, intent now that nothing more would interrupt them. It seemed like so long since the last time she'd had Raine alone like this, what with Raine being busy teaching and Sheena constantly having to leave on another mission. But with summer came a lull in both of their duties, and they were rapidly coming to see summers as possibly being the highlight of their future years together. They sank to the floor, forgetting everything but each other. They didn't speak anymore, the silence being broken only by sighs and giggles, soft phrases not meant to be responded to... every touch rekindling old fires. Every pause to look into each other's eyes an opportunity to remember... be lost.

**OoOoOo**

**A/N: **None for you. In the next chapter we get to have... FLASHBACK! YAY!

OK so I know what you're all saying... "GET TO WORK ON PARTNERS ALREADY, YA SLOB! YA PIG! YA LAZY POOP! And what about Sheena's Problem? Or Instinct? Or HEAT, for god's sake?"

Well, I wanted to make lesbian fluff instead of drama, action, Sheena/Regal fluff, and all-of-the-above in HEAT's case. So nyah.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: When I re-read this chapter, I feel like it's though I'm reading someone else's work. Maybe cause I'm not trying to make it sound epic. It's just what it is. And what it is is these two having a good time. WARNING IN ADVANCE!

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS WITH _WOMEN BEING INTIMATE!_

_IN GRAPHIC DETAIL!_

SERIOUSLY DUDES, I USE THE WORD _"NIPPLE"_! AND... OTHER WORDS... THAT DON'T REALLY BELONG IN A WARNING... CAUSE THEN I'D NEED A WARNING FOR THE WARNING...AND NOW I'M... JUST GONNA STOP... yeah...

Well, I tried. You're all probably going to read it anyway. At least review if you're gonna do that!

**OoOoOo**

_**Long before the events of the previous chapter…**_

"This is effed up," Sheena muttered, staring dolefully into the hotel lobby through the window. Freezing rain pounded down on her hunched shoulders, already drenching through the meager cover her jacket had provided. "You'd think they would recognize you at least. Why would they refuse a room to the Chosen One?"

"Ex-Chosen," Zelos reminded her, crossing his arms with a cool expression. "Ex-Chosen who got robbed along the road, even though his ninja compatriot is SUPPOSED to be excellent at spotting that sort of devious pick-pocketing for the unwary noble. Ex-Chosen, who no longer has the power of the Church behind him cause- oh yeah!" he smacked his forehead as if remembering. "My good buddies exposed the Church of Martel as a scandal!"

"Well that doesn't seem to deter any of your girlfriends." The short woman turned, marching down the street with Zelos at her heels. "They're always, 'Oh, Master Zelos this, Master Zelos that!' It drives me up the wall. We have to deal with them in every town, get dragged into their house for hospitality, and now the one time your puppets would have been of actual use you say you've never been here!"

"Hey, it's a relatively new town." Zelos shrugged uncomfortably, spewing out sprays of water with every breath. "Boomed up after gold was struck in the caves nearby."

"Unbelievable."

"Yeah, who'd a thought they'd find gold here?"

"Not that, you moron! I already heard about all that from a friend who lives here!" she smacked the back of his head. "This situation is unbelievable! Listen, if we can get to those caves you mentioned-"

Zelos reared back, holding his hands up in a time out symbol. "Hold up. I am not sleeping in a smelly, musty old cave."

Sheena rounded on him with the fury of a cold, hungry, miserable shinobi. "Zelos Wilder, if you want to sleep out in the rain, be my guest. But you are going to take me to these caves or so help me I'll-"

Sheena never did get to finish that particular threat- something had caught her eye. She stopped mid-sentence, ignoring the cringing Zelos as a fluorescent pink umbrella bobbed up out of the gloom of the never ending rain. Clutching the handle was a pale, soft hand, and a familiar voice sang out to them. The voice was high, and sweet-toned.

"Sheena?" asked the person holding the umbrella. "I'd heard you were staying here, but…"

**OoOoOo**

Orange-yellow flames roared. Zelos sat at the bar, chugging a mug full of rich chicken soup. He had his eyes closed, and his entire frame was set to let everyone in the vicinity that he was sitting there, _staying_ there, and wasn't going to move or turn around for anyone's sake. _Where_ he was sitting might have had a strong influence on how rigid and awkward his posture was, though. Sheena stood behind the counter, talking animatedly to the bartender as he served the various men crowded around Zelos drinks of an unmentionable nature. "Gustave! It's so good to see you, you have no idea!" she squealed, barely allowing him room to breathe for hugging him so tightly.

Gustave, a plump man with a boy's clean face tittered girlishly. Zelos shuddered at the noise. "Darling, the pleasure is mine. When I saw you there with your little boyfriend, well, what kind of friend would I be to leave you out in the rain?" He laughed again, and several of his customers guffawed with him. Zelos, if possible, became even stiffer and stonily silent.

"Aw, thank you Gussy!" Sheena said, hugging him tighter. "But Zelos isn't my boyfriend. We're-"

"ENGAGED."

It was the first word Zelos had spoken since he learned where they had been taken for shelter. His nervous energy, pent up inside him, whooshed out through that one word hard enough to leave him shaking. There was a smattering of polite applause from the men around them and more than a few "oooh!"'s and "congratulations!"'s.

"YeahtheweddingisinAugust." The rest of the words came out in a jumble and he lurched to his feet, scrambling over the counter to grab Sheena's hand. "ListenSheenacanItalktoyouthanksdear!" Without waiting for an answer, Zelos physically dragged his friend away from the cluster around the bar and pulled her to a more secluded corner.

"Wha- fwuh- Zelos!"

Sheena finally wrenched free of his icy grip, sputtering with her face bright red. "What's gotten into you?" she hissed. "We're not engaged! I don't even like you!"

"That's an argument for another day," said the Ex-Chosen, glancing around him with rodent-like apprehension. "Sheena, do you have any idea what this place is?"

Sheena put her hands on her hips, fighting against her wildfire temper. "A bar. Gustave is kindly letting us stay in the rooms upstairs tonight, and he was very gracious to do so. There's even another couple staying here-"

"Don't play games with me!" He grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around to look at their surroundings. "Look! What do you see?"

"Ummm… guys… chairs… tables… a puddle of what I really hope is October Ale?"

"Nonono." Zelos shook his head. "The first thing."

"Ummm?"

"Damn it, Sheena! You've taken me to a gay bar!" Zelos stomped one foot on the floor, howling his indignation. "A _gay bar_!"

Sheena could only smirk wryly. "Don't worry, Zelos. Their gay is not contagious."

"That's not my problem here. With my looks, if these guys knew I was single they'd be all over me!" Waving his hands wildly into the air now, he was drawing more than a few stares and even some grumbles as the locals probably gained an inkling as to what was making Zelos panic so much.

Sheena patted him on the back, trying to calm her friend down. "Zelos, please. You're making a scene. I'll go along with your dumb charade only cause I don't want them to know we're lying. But all you had to do is tell them you're straight and they'd have left you alone!"

Zelos snorted. "Pch'yeah right. Like they'd believe me."

"Yeah," Sheena agreed coldly, walking past him back towards the bar. "I can understand that. You do look pretty gay."

"Hey, it takes a real man to wear pink! It looks good on me and you know it! Hey! HEY! Don't walk away from me!"

"Uh-oh, honeymoon's over," someone sniggered from another corner of the room.

"Hey Sheena, if you don't want him, send him my way!"

"Yeah, I love red heads…"

Zelos's face turned as bright red as his hair and he sputtered something unintelligible.

"Sorry, my soon-to-be husband is suffering from culture shock," Sheena muttered to Gustave, who could only shrug. She sat herself down at the bar with a heavy sigh and ordered a non-alcoholic drink merely to be polite to her bartender friend. It wasn't long before Zelos grudgingly joined her, though he resumed his former wordless vigil as soon as he sat down.

"Soo…" Sheena twiddled with her glass, grasping for some new lane of conversation to try and distract from her fictional wedding. She wanted Gustave to forget it before he started asking for details, which obviously were going to be quite hard to procure. "Seen Raine around recently? I heard this was her next stop in her schedule. She's going to be giving a speech at the church, right? Equal rights for half-elves and all that?"

"Funny you should mention it, hun," he said, pointing to the doorway. "Raine and you are both always welcome here, but she takes advantage of my hospitality a bit more often."

Sheena and Zelos swiveled in their seats to see that the door had opened once more and two more rain-sodden figures lurched into the warm glow of the bar. Genis Sage shook himself hard as a dog, sending droplets flying everywhere from his wild silver hair. A few patrons complained, but more were interested in acknowledging his older sister.

"Rainie! Welcome back!"

"If it's not too much trouble, I cut my palm earlier on a broken bottle-"

"Hey! Don't bother the great Raine Sage with petty wounds like that!"

"Ugh, I hate coming here," Genis muttered under his breath, no doubt just as happy as Zelos in this all-male surrounding he found himself in.

Raine nudged him with her elbow, reminding him to be polite as she walked forward, rainwater dripping from the ends of her thick orange traveling coat. "Well," she said, voice demure. "I had heard you two were in town. I suppose it was only logical you'd come here, Sheena. It's nice to see you again."

Sheena grinned. "Well, truth be told, we were supposed to only stay here for a few hours, but then…" she waved expansively towards the general direction of the door, indicating the rain that hadn't stopped its torrents in all the time they had been in town. "Anyway. C'mon, I'll buy you a drink!" she patted the seat on the other side of her, since the immobile Zelos was already sitting at her right.

"Hey," he croaked to Genis, perhaps never having been so happy to see the twerp.

"Sup?" Genis responded in like, plopping down not at the bar, where he wasn't allowed, but right in front of the brick fireplace.

"I'll just have some of that soup I smell," Raine said, sitting down on the offered seat. "I don't drink."

"I remember that, Raine. You know I don't drink either." Sheena lifted up her cup. "This is fruit punch."

Raine smiled, the gesture awkward on her normally impassive face. Taking another cup, she gave a brief nod and Gustave filled it to the brim. As Raine took a long sip, he chose that moment to add in, "Though I bet champagne wouldn't be too bad, right Sheena? We should celebrate your marriage a little!"

Raine found that drinking and involuntary gasps of shock weren't meant to be taken in the same breath. Splurting out the red liquid back into her cup and spilling more than a little onto the counter, she bent over and tried to clear her lungs with huge, racking coughs. The action was totally unexpected from the cool Professor, and more than one person found themselves staring at the spectacle.

"Y-you're mah- mah- married?" she choked out between coughs.

"Not yet!" Gustave chirped, beaming at the three as he cracked open a bottle of champagne. "From what I hear, the wedding isn't until fall! Isn't that lovely? This one is going to make a heck of a groom."

He jerked a thumb at Zelos, who waved idiotically at Raine with a large grin plastered on his face.

Raine clenched the wooden edge of the bar, not trusting her voice enough to speak. Sheena reached over and squeezed her shoulder meaningfully, running her fingers across her own lips in a "zip it!" gesture when Gustave's back was turned. "I'll explain later," she muttered.

"That would be most appreciated," Raine said, her voice drier than the Triet Desert. Louder, she added, "Gustave, I think I've changed my mind. Would it trouble you to pour me a glass of that champagne?"

"Not at all!" He slid her fruit punch aside and topped off a flute of shining crystal he had procured from somewhere under the bar. "Here- it isn't the finest around, but I'm fond of it myself."

Sheena read the label. Some Flanoir nonsense she didn't recognize. But before she knew it, she had a glass of the stuff in her hand and Zelos was already sipping at his. Even Genis was allowed to take a tiny sip from Raine's glass when he came over to see what all the commotion was about. _Well,_ Sheena thought as she grudgingly began to drink, _it's not every day you get married to the most eligible bachelor in town._

"To Sheena and Zelos!" one of the bar goers cried, somehow managing to wrangle himself a glass of the champagne too. He lifted the crystal into the air and the rest of the bar followed suit, raising mugs and shouting out:

"Sheena and Zelos!"

"Name one of the kids after me!"

"Long life and a happy, healthy marriage!"

Raine swirled her champagne in her glass, leaning onto the bar with one elbow keeping her propped up. In a very half-hearted toast of her own, she smirked humorlessly at Sheena. "To the most unusual couple I've ever had the pleasure of knowing," she said in a low murmur, clinking glasses with the "future bride".

Sheena laughed nervously. "Yeah," she agreed, "We're uh- we're quite a pair, huh?"

"Now, in all the time I've known you two, I don't think I've ever heard how you met?" Raine kept on. Sheena wondered if it was just her imagination, but it seemed like Raine had her mind elsewhere when she asked. As the room became steadily more rowdy, Sheena thought it was safe to lean in and whisper to Raine.

"Listen, Zelos made it up. It's not true."

Raine snorted, not looking appeased in the slightest. "As if I needed you to tell me that much," she hissed back, taking a hasty swig of her champagne. Almost as soon as it was gone it reappeared almost by magic as Gustave uncorked another bottle. "I thought you were…?"

Sheena quickly sat back into her seat, turning slightly away from Raine with an angry expression. "Y'know Gus, I'm sorry to be a party pooper but Zelos and I really need to get our rest if we're going to leave for Meltokio tomorrow. Big diplomatic meeting and all."

"Say no more. You can have the special…" Gustave glanced about in faux-suspense, grinning mischievously. "_Honeymoon_ suite."

Sheena opened her mouth to protest but Zelos cut in, grabbing her hand and dragging her away again, this time up the stairs. "Sounds dandy to me!" he said, sounding a bit happier than even a real fiancé should have been, going so far as to leave a lingering kiss on her lips. "Come along now, darling!"

"You are so dead," Sheena said back to him.

**OoOoOo**

Bonk!

Zelos was booted from the room into the hallway, where Raine and Genis were standing with twin faces of amusement. Raine held her wet orange coat draped over one arm, almost pitying him lying there on the floor. "Did you really think you were going to sleep with her?" she wanted to know; Genis merely sniggered.

"Well, not in the innuendo sense, if that makes any difference," the red head muttered, rubbing at his sore behind. "But where am I going to sleep? The cold hard floor?" he turned around and shot pleading eyes at his "fiancé". "Oh Sheena. After all we've been through..?"

Genis managed to control himself long enough to throw in a suggestion: "Well, since Raine and I are staying here as well, you can sleep with me and Sheena can sleep with Sis. Sound good?"

Zelos seemed less than happy. "How come Raine gets to sleep with Sheena?" he pouted.

Genis shot him an are-you-crazy-or-just-really-stupid look of disgust. "Cause it makes more sense for you to room with me. We're both guys."

"Given our current location," Raine said, "That's an incredibly ironic thing to say, Genis."

Genis grew pale. "You know what?" he said. "Maybe it's best if I room with-"

Raine cut him off before he could even start. "Absolutely not." Her tone brooked no argument.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Sheena muttered, tugging Raine inside with her. "I'll room with Raine. Now good night, you two."

"But-" the two men stepped forward.

"Good NIGHT," Sheena repeated firmly, shutting the door in their faces and turning around, slumping against the wood with her fingers pressed against her forehead. She looked up to see Raine smirking, but her face was soon wiped quite clean of all emotion when she realized Sheena was watching her.

Sheena wasn't fooled. "What?" she demanded, warning heavy in her voice. "I hope you're not getting any funny ideas because of this."

Raine shook her head, quickly trying to establish peace. She put her wet orange coat over the back of a chair to let it dry, running one hand along her silver hair. "No, no. I was just thinking how much this must be killing Zelos. He knows I'm a lesbian, after all, so he's probably the one getting all the funny ideas."

Feeling herself relax now that the danger had passed, Sheena uncrossed her arms and laughed. "Tell me about it," she said. "He doesn't even need that much to get funny ideas. Traveling with him is a royal-"

"-Pain in the ass, yes, you've told me."

Sheena blinked. "Really? When?"

Raine rolled her shoulder uncomfortably. "_You_ know," she said, sitting down on the edge of the only bed in the room. "The last time we were together."

The ninja's face flushed as the memory sparked. "Oh yeah," she said, slapping her palm across her forehead. "Right. Duh. I guess I must have- of course that was a while ago- and I don't- I mean not anymore-"

Raine held up a hand for silence. "Please, Sheena. Stop before you embarrass yourself further with your attempts to convince me you're not into women."

"Convince?!" Sheena fairly squeaked even as she found her eyes drifting downwards. Raine's white button-up shirt was still wet. Dragging her eyes back upwards, Sheena tried to recall her train of thought. What had she been saying? "I, uh... I don't need to convince anyone. I'm straight now, you know that. You were just an experiment. Just-"

Raine could only laugh. It was understandably bitter. "Just your own personal whipping girl. Thanks for rubbing it in."

"You are not," Sheena insisted, ignoring Raine's false chuckles. She stomped her foot when Raine didn't stop, demanding attention. "You're not! You're just my friend, and, and… and now I'm really regretting this."

Raine pointed at the door as Sheena walked over. "Well, Zelos is just down the hall if- whoop-" Raine got cut off as Sheena bounced on top of the bed, sitting next to her, and jolted her. "…Huh. Well, you get the picture or you wouldn't be sitting here."

"Here." Sheena tossed her a pillow. "We can use the same quilt, but different lighter blankets underneath, kay?"

"How awfully trusting of you. This isn't some form of twisted, innocently hidden seduction, is it Sheena? Are you trying to make a criminal out of me?"

"Didn't I just tell you "no funny ideas"?

"To be fair, you used a similar reason last time we were together."

Her face redder than usual, Sheena punched her pillow angrily, pretending it was Raine. "Oh, shut up."

"Hmm? Why? I'm only telling the truth."

"Grr! Shut up!" Punch, punch, punch.

"In fact," Raine continued relentlessly, and Sheena was so flustered she didn't notice the half-elf scoot closer to her. "Even though we supposedly broke up ages ago, you always find a way to kiss me when we're all alone."

"I- I do not!"

"And then, like now, you deny it. So isn't it logical of me to think that this, like all the other times, is an ill-disguised attempt to use me in secret while maintaining the illusion that you are 'straight', as you so claim?"

"That's… you don't have to say it that way… I mean it's not true but…" torn between guilt and anger, Sheena could no longer speak coherently. Deciding upon guilt, she clapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. "All right, all right! So it's true! I never hear _you_ complaining!" she accused.

"Well, probably because I'm using you for a similar purpose," Raine mused, one hand on her chin.

"Fine, but... I really did want to room with you only cause you're my friend," Sheena said, removing her hands from her ears to clasp them together, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She turned slightly in her seat to face Raine, maybe not realizing how much the half-elf had bridge the distance between them when she wasn't looking. "I know it's weird, all right? I mean, I don't even understand it myself. I only invited you like I would have invited Presea or Colette or even Lloyd, but once we were in here all alone, I just feel this overwhelming-"

"-physical attraction," Raine finished for her. She cupped the back of Sheena's neck with one hand and pulled her close. Her other hand grabbed Sheena's elbow as the ninja tried to get away and locked her in place, their foreheads touching for what seemed like forever to let their hearts beat with the excitement of doing something forbidden, giving them enough time to try and back out before it was too late.

And then when it seemed like nothing more would happen, it _was_ too late. There was something hungry about the way Raine kissed the ninja, a far cry from the delicate pecks they usually started these trysts with. Jumping past that as if they had wasted too much time already, Raine ran her hands down over Sheena's shoulders, running sensitive fingertips along her arms to grip Sheena's wrists, holding them tight. Trapping her.

Sheena only had enough rational thought stored up to whimper in alarm, her head tilted back with the force of the kiss, with Raine seeming to loom over her even though they were the same height. She kissed back even as she tried to pull away, feeling her mouth open to say "Stop it!" but hearing her voice catch in her throat, groaning so soft it was almost a purr. Cautiously, she reached out with her tongue, flicking it against Raine's lips to try and gain entry. She felt Raine's pulse jump in time with a trembling sigh, her pale face flushed as, almost shyly, she opened her mouth and found Sheena's tongue with her own, red hot. Tasting champagne. Driven onwards, Raine gained confidence as she felt Sheena stop resisting. Now it seemed like the force had been reversed, that it was Sheena who was pressing forward and in control as she stroked the inside of the half-elf's mouth, demanding more and more, almost faster than Raine could supply. Sheena's hands burned to be set free, to touch Raine and feel her body wrapped in her arms. She wanted to feel every tremor and know she was the one who caused it like she caused Raine to cry out in need, wordless and almost pitiful. Even now she could feel Raine's grip slacking- in truth it was a miracle she had kept it up for so long.

And just like she knew, Raine eventually couldn't keep her grip tight enough. Sheena broke free, finally able to move. She lunged at Raine, hugging her tighter than Colette on a sugar rush, every gasp of breath loud with emotion, unable to convey her wild, reckless abandon into words. Emerging out of their tongue-locked kiss, she clawed her clear, sharp nails down Raine's chest, hearing the buttons popping free from her shirt when she couldn't be patient enough to undo them one by one. Raine slipped out of the sleeves, now only wearing her pants and a lacey white bra, not thick enough to hide how her nipples were bulging through the fabric, aching to be touched.

But then Raine's eyebrows furrowed, her violet eyes managing to unfog from the passion long enough for her to realize her shirt was ruined now. "Hey!" she said, "How am I supposed to explain-"

"Shhhh."

Sheena pushed her down, hard. The long, drawn-out monosyllable followed Sheena's lips as she gripped Raine's face between her hands and flicking her wet tongue along her earlobe. Abandoning Raine's face, she unzipped the scholar's pants and tugged them down over her ankles along with her panties, leaving her almost completely naked. Sheena knelt over Raine- or sat on her would be a more appropriate verb, since there was no space between them now that Sheena lowered her upper body to let their hearts explode next to each other. To an observer, it would have seemed like the dark purple of her kimono melded with Raine's pale white body into one writhing snake; indecent, a thin sheen of sweat reflecting the light that burned over their heads.

As if in anticipation, the skin along the half elf's jaw line tingled with phantom sensations. Or maybe somehow her skin cells remembered the way Sheena's lips made her feel, tracking downwards along the curve of her neck, reaching soft pale breasts that she teased with her teeth. A sharp, beautiful pain on the tip of her ear reminded her that she was getting ahead of herself. Gripping the bed sheets so tightly her knuckles stood out white against her pale skin, it was all she could do to keep breathing as she waited to feel what she wanted so badly… Sheena touching her, teasing her nails along the outer lips, twirling the cloud of thick silver hair around one finger and tugging at it, nipping Raine's neck as she played with the scholar's moist pink clit.

Thick with lust, Sheena's voice floated through her subconscious. "You can touch me, too, you know…" she said, quickly adding with a hint of her former embarrassment- "I- I mean… if you want to…"

Raine needed no further prompting, wondering herself why she had simply lain there like a coma victim. She let go of the sheets, slipping her hands past the waist of Sheena's pants, cupping her soft, boyish butt. Giving it a test squeeze, she considered it a definite upgrade from clinging to silk white sheets. Smiling against Sheena's neck, kissing it, her hands traveled around the human's wide hips to reach that throbbing center, spreading her thighs apart to run her index finger all along where only she had ever been. Sheena flinched, but not from pain or even fear. Another jolt rocked her from her focus and she stopped to close her eyes, her mouth open but silent, not even breathing so as to better concentrate on the steady motion of Raine's fingers inside her. Finally her body demanded oxygen and she could no longer ignore it, sucking in air and blowing it out, tense and shivering and exhilarated, feeling her own hands move down to join in, grabbing Raine's hand and guiding her, their hips rocking in tandem and their legs wrapped up in each other. "Raine, Raine, _Raine_…!" she said. With an invisible tilt of the scales, it was the half-elf in charge now, trying to sit up with this human draped on top of her and kissing her with so much passion, left hand still circling and thrusting while the other pulled down the shoulder of Sheena's purple robe to grip at her breast, the dark pink flesh of her nipple both soft and hard filling her mouth. With a wet plop, she pulled free and looked up at Sheena, who had slipped out of the rest of her robes. Still looking up, Raine kissed the human's belly, murmuring sweet nothings, feeling Sheena's heart beating no matter where she touched.

And then-

Tok tok tok tok!

If the entire world collectively screamed "_OH SHIT!"_ it might have reflected their immediate thoughts as they heard, clearly over the sounds of their own lovemaking, someone knocking on their door. Sheena held Raine's shoulders tightly and they both sat up straight, staring at the door in the fear that it might open onto the scene of the crime.

"Hey Sheena? Raine?" Zelos's voice echoed clearly through the door. "Can I come in? Are you guys asleep?"

"What do we-" Sheena began, but Raine clapped one hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Shh!"

But it was too late. "Don't ignore me! I hear you two talking in there, let me in!"

Thinking fast, Sheena peeled Raine's hand off of her. "Quick, pull down the blankets and just lie down, OK?" she whispered. "Just pretend like you're asleep."

Piling all her discarded clothes under with her, Raine rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Pulling her robe over her curvaceous form and turning off the lights, Sheena cleared her throat and tried to do something with her hair before opening the door the barest of inches, glaring at Zelos with murder in her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice clipped and terse.

"Well I was GOING to apologize for being an idiot and making up that lie about us," Zelos huffed, "But you two are going to be mean to me then I take it back."

"Is that all?" Sheena wanted to know. "We were… we were _sleeping_ before you came and woke us up again." _And we would have kept on sleeping for a good long while if you hadn't!_ she added mentally.

Zelos deflated at that, looking a little sorry now. "You mean…" he said, shuffling. "She hasn't tried anything funny with you?"

Sheena's face grew red. "W-what? Of course not! Go to bed and stop being such a pervert, Zelos." Closing the door in his face for the second time that night, she collapsed onto the floor with a fist in her mouth to keep from giggling. The only perverts here were her and Raine! Hearing his heavy footsteps depart, she suddenly realized where her hand had just been. Her face thoughtful, she pressed her tongue against her fingertips, glancing over to where she could still see Raine huddled up underneath the blankets. Double checking the lock on the door, she tip-toed over to the bed, to Raine.

"Hey," she said, crouching on all fours on the mattress. She looked down at Raine, who honestly did appear to be asleep.

Raine opened her eyes. "Hey yourself." She reached up, caressing the human girl's face. "Is he gone?"

"Uhuh. Raine, I think I love you."

"Good, because he-" Raine stopped as if she had been slapped. "What? Sheena…"

"I don't want to do this anymore," the ninja said, sitting down and rubbing at her tired eyes. "I don't like sneaking around. Ironic, I know, don't even begin to tell me about how sneaking is a ninja's job."

Raine slowly got up as well, the blanket clutched to her chest but not hiding much. "Does this mean… you don't want to see me anymore?"

"No!" Sheena glanced up in alarm. "Didn't you just hear me? I don't want to sneak around- I want to be out. In the open. I'm a big fat lesbian dyke, ok? Happy now? I said it. Want me to proclaim it to the world?"

Raine took her hands, gently squeezing them. "You don't have to do that," she said.

Sheena squeezed back. "And this isn't just the sex talking, either, before you come to that conclusion. I wanna know more about you than just those things. And- and I bet Grandpa would let me stay in Iselia with you if I asked. And if I ever to have to live in Mizuho, maybe Genis wouldn't mind that much- but maybe if you two-"

"Sheena, calm down. I'd live anywhere with you, even if I was only your whipping girl. You know, slave to your nether regions. I'm pretty sure I could live with that."

Sheena smiled wryly. "You were never just my whipping girl, dummy. You were my friend."

"Do you often fuck your friends? Because if we're living together that might be a problem. I don't like to share."

"Do you want to live with me or not?"

Raine paused a moment, her face grave. "I want that more than anything," she said, and Sheena could tell she was telling the truth. "But there's a serious problem with that."

Sheena's heart fell as she tried to think of what could be wrong. Sure, it was sudden- but not really, if you considered it. Even before they had moved on to sex, Sheena hadn't exactly made it a secret to Raine that she was interested. She just… made it a secret to everyone else. She'd wanted to be with Raine, but had been so held back by her fears that she had refused herself until those moments when refusing it became impossible, those times when they were alone and she knew there was no one else she could ever want…

"What?" she asked, though she dreaded the answer. "What's wrong? Maybe we can fix it."

Fixing her with a level stare, Raine said, "We're going to have to cancel your wedding."

It took Sheena a full five seconds to register what Raine had said. Then she started laughing so hard, Raine jumped a bit in surprise before joining in, nervously at first, but before long they were breathless, delirious. Glancing sideways at Raine, who was lying sprawled out on the bed next to her, Sheena began to giggle again but Raine stopped her with a kiss, slowly wrapping her arms around the human.

"By the way, Sheena?" she said into Sheena's ear when they broke the kiss, cuddled together with matching, ridiculous grins on their faces. "I love you too."

**OoOoOo**

**A/N:** This is an early/late birthday present to anyone who likes Reena! HAPPY IMAGINARY BIRTHDAY IMAGINARY READERS! So yes, as some may know, this is my second Reena lemon. I might be biased but I think this one is a hell of a lot better than the last, mainly since the last one was more about the story going on. In the other story Sheena was engaged (for real) to Orochi and after she and Raine did the deed she skipped town and left Raine to wake up to an empty bed. Then I switched scenes to see what Genis was up to, and he had some angst of his own to deal with Yuan and the fact that he has a twin brother named Kloitz. Angst. Angst. Angst some more. Booooooring.

So I decided on this one, funny and flirty and hopefully a bit more sexy. I love baking cookies and I love Reena, so I figured if I put the two of them together you get a recipe for awesome sauce. So here you go! I hope you enjoyed it… now go read Partners already! Or if you're one of those who read Partners and are yelling at me, asking me why I'm wasting time on this when you're waiting for the next chapter… go read Project HEAT, if you want more Raine/Sheena! Or Sheena's Problem if you're tired of all this Reena already and you want to see someone get punched in the face.

OK, seriously now. I'm not sure if this is the last chapter. I don't think so, so keep it in your alerts if you're waiting for more Reena goodness. Right now I'm thinking the next episode will take place on the beach, so until then… take care!


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